A round-up of other world stories in brief...
NY Congress seat vote too close to call
NEW YORK – A special election to fill a congressional seat in New York state earlier this week was too close to call with less than 100 votes separating candidates in the race, viewed by many as a referendum on US president Barack Obama’s handling of the US economy.
Democrat Scott Murphy, a venture capitalist with no background in politics, led Republican state assembly minority leader Jim Tedisco by less than 100 votes in the largely rural House of Representatives district. – (Reuters)
Madagascar poll in October 2010
ANTANANARIVO – Madagascar plans to hold a presidential election in October 2010 to restore democracy after Andry Rajoelina took power last month in a transition branded a coup by foreign leaders.
A road map agreed during a two-day conference in the capital Antananarivo envisages changes to the constitution and electoral code this year, followed by a parliamentary election next March and then the presidential vote in October. – (Reuters)
Iowa to allow same-sex marriage
DES MOINES – The Iowa supreme court yesterday struck down a decade-old law that barred gays from marrying, making the state the first in the US heartland to allow same-sex marriages.
Opponents vowed to begin the difficult process of amending the Iowa constitution to overturn the ruling. – (Reuters)
Parents, teachers jailed for cheating
BEIJING – Eight parents and teachers have been jailed on Chinese state secret charges after using high-tech communication devices to help pupils cheat in college entrance exams.
The conspirators used scanners and wireless earpieces to transmit answers, indicating the lengths to which people go to ensure success in the make-or-break “gaokao”, which determines the future of 10 million 18-year-olds each year.
Those involved were sentenced to between six months and three years for illegally obtaining state secrets. It is not known whether any children were punished. – (Guardian service)
Cambodian and Thai troops clash
PHNOM PENH – Thai and Cambodian soldiers exchanged rocket and rifle fire on a disputed stretch of their border yesterday, the latest flare-up in a long-running feud over a 900-year-old Hindu temple.
Both sides accused each other of firing first in two clashes near the Preah Vihear temple, which was at the centre of an armed standoff between the two nations last year.
Cambodia said two Thai soldiers were killed and three wounded in the first clash.
Thailand denied taking any casualties. – (Reuters)